Partscaster or DIY kit (and what shape)for using with EMG pups

thecolourbox

Following my noise issue thread, EMG pickups have been suggested for me and they sound excellent. But the guitar i have, it would seem a shame to swap out the already upgraded pups so soon to put the EMG's in. Which has got me thinking, the solderless stuff on these pups makes it sound all very possible to do myself, with a nice "donor" instrument.

Would a diy guitar kit be any good for this? Ive always fancied it and if there's no solder involved that could be great. But the DIY kits I'm guessing are not great quality instruments? Anybody got views on this? Like the idea of doing stuff myself and giving it a finish of my choice.

The other option i guess would be to try and get a Fender Mexican body, perhaps one without pups in, or other alternative guitar body companies like Warmoth (i think?)for as cheap as possible without it being a knacker, and put them on that.

What are your thoughts?

The other question is, what type/shape? I have a Tele now and love it. So on one hand I'd fancy a nicer model of that, but on the other hand, if I already have a Tele why not try for something different as a contrast? Id still like the ability to have a fairly raucous bridge type sound for my white stripes type playing, but also a nice smoother toneful neck type sound for strummy Buckley style stuff

Thanks, let the opinion pool commence!

JookyChap

Building can be fun, but personally I'd probably look at buying a body from GuitarBuild or BooBoo on ebay ahead of getting a kit (the difference is really down to how much sanding you want to do as BooBoo seem to sell GuitarBuild's rejects) and then pick up a nice neck from somewhere.

The hardware and pickups in most kits are dire, so you'd probably be upgrading them anyway, and of the kits I've seen, GB/BB bodies are much better and definitely something like a North West Guitars neck is streets ahead. Kit guitars always seem to weigh a ton for some reason again I've seen a few, so the sample size isn't massive).

If you don't fancy doing the finishing, I'd  go for a second hand Squier VM and upgrade the pickups and tuners (if you feel the need to). They are crazy good for the money and second hand they are ridiculously cheap.

As for finishing, Wudtone gets a good press around here, but stain and hard wax oil or tru-oil are easy to use and look fantastic if you have a nice piece of wood to show off.

ThePrettyDamned

What he said. Definitely second the idea of a booboo or guitarbuild, but both need sanding.

IIt's a fair bit of hard work - but the result is something that I always think is quite personal. I love doing partscasters, I suspect there are many more to come and I'll have to sell some...

A tele is the easiest bet. Everything is screwed down, the wiring is simple, shielding is simple, there is only one awkward to sand cutaway...

thecolourbox

Thanks, hmm yeah that's what i thought. The pickup upgrade is the sole reason for this really just thought it might add extra fun as a bonus.

The finish would be either gold or silver leaf i think, I'm that kitsch!

JookyChap

Ah, if you are going for leaf, I would definitely do it over new wood. it looks great if it is distressed over a nice stained body. @WezV did some beautiful ones

ICBM

A possible option if you can find one is a Fender USA Tele Plus from the late 80s/early 90s. They have a humbucker (actually two single coils side by side) in the bridge and a single coil neck - they come stock with Lace Sensors, which are some of the only passive pickups which might solve your problem, and if they don't you can fit EMGs… although you'd need a new surround for the bridge humbucker since the stock one is cut for the two rounded coils.

They used to be very cheap since they don't appeal to Tele traditionalists, but have gone up in value due to Jonny Greenwood using one… still not massively though I don't think.

If you got one of the EMG humbuckers which can be switched to a single coil you could use the mini-switch for that.

To be honest the solderless stuff is almost more of a pain in the backside than it's worth. There's too much wire and it can be difficult to get it all neatly into the cavity in something as tight as a Tele. If you want to go down that route I'd probably look at a Strat-type body, or something with more room in it at least.

thecolourbox

Thanks ICBM, I'll keep an eye peeled. Re the solderless, i really cant solder so even given a level of faff it would be easier than that ha ha

Theprettydamned, having looked at the amount of work involved, if you'd like to make me one just for kicks you know, you could

Thanks all for the input

thecolourbox

Hmm I do have a leftover Pacifica but it's only a cheapo model, and I wasn't too fond of the neck, nice colour blue though. *Quick Google* wow the strat pick up sets are steep. Maybe the wireless system batteries are not too much of a faff after all haha